This volume serves as a critical component of the comprehensive lexicographical project documenting the evolution and usage of the Scots language from the twelfth through the seventeenth centuries. The editorial team, led by A. J. Aitken and his successors, utilizes extensive archival research and primary source documentation to provide a definitive record of vocabulary before the linguistic merger with standard English. The work functions as a historical repository, mapping the semantic shifts and cultural context of words within the medieval and renaissance Scottish landscape.

Scholars and historians frequently categorize this work as the definitive reference for the study of Older Scots. Experts highlight the academic rigor and the sheer density of the lexicographical data as a foundational resource for any serious investigation into Scottish history and literature.